How the Muslim vote is stacking up in UK elections

Описание: (8 Dec 2019) LEAD IN:
The UK heads to the polls next week for a general election.
Muslims could play a crucial role in deciding who forms the next government - if they can be encouraged to go out and vote.

STORY-LINE:
British voters are gearing up for a snap general election on December 12.
All 650 seats in the House of Commons are up for grabs next week when voters will pass judgment on an ill-tempered and divisive election.
And there's one section of the population who could swing the result one way or another - Muslims.
Securing votes from this community could be decisive, particularly in certain marginal seats.
Last month, the Muslim Council of Britain, ran a campaign to encourage its target audience to register to vote.
"We decided it would be great to have a national day of action where mosques and community centres and ordinary Muslims nationwide took part to encourage themselves, to encourage their friends, their families, their congregations to all make sure they are registered to vote," says Zainab Gulamali, head of public affairs for the Muslim Council of Britain.
The MCB has identified 31 marginal seats where the Muslim vote could sway the outcome.
And Gulamali is clear about the most important election issue.
"We found that tackling Islamophobia is the number one priority British Muslims are looking for from their political parties," she says.
But campaigners are concerned that the Muslim community may choose to stay home on polling day.
Bashir Ibrahim, a Muslim and a campaigner for the People's Vote campaign which wants another vote on leaving the European Union, says there is low voter turnout among Muslims because they are not engaged in the political process.
But he thinks that's changing.
"We're in London where we have a Muslim mayor of London, we're seeing Muslims represented in all parts of our political process," he says.
"We are seeing more and more Muslims getting engaged in that political process because they are seeing their image and people that look like them, come from communities like them, in positions of power."
Imam Amjal Masroor was concerned about the number of Muslims who were not registered to vote.
So he supported the MCB's registration campaign and has urged his community to get involved.
"So in my local mosque I spoke about it. I had hundred of people asking for how do we sign in right now, how do we join," he says.
"Remember voting is not just a civic duty, for a Muslim it's a trust that you have, you need to have the right person representing you in the parliament. So therefore we invited Muslims, encouraged them to join and do what is their duty, both civic as well as their spiritual duty."
So what are the issues that will sway votes in the Muslim community?
Ahmed Gokal is a shipping consultant in a small family-run firm in northwest London.
He says Muslims need to vote "not just on issues affecting the Muslim community".
"It can be domestic foreign policy issues, like Brexit, the NHS, the future of the economy, the national living wage, these are all issues which affect Muslims."
For research associate Minaal Ahmed, her identity as a young British Muslim woman will heavily influence how she votes.
"Now more than ever we are being unfairly targeted and it is really important to have a party that is in government that recognises that and actually contributes to investigations taking place and helping the faces of young British Muslim women," she says.
But other Muslims are considering factors outside their faith.
The 2016 referendum on Britain's EU membership split the country into two camps: “leavers” and “remainers.”

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